Addis, Ababa – As Ethiopia is expected to officially open the Renaissance Dam on Monday, speculation has prevailed about the effects on Egypt. The Annahda Dam remains a focal point in discussions about regional water resources.
Construction took 14 years, although Addis Ababa did not reach a compromise with the downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan. The Annahda Dam has been central to these ongoing discussions.
While Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that the Annahda Dam does not pose a threat to either Egypt or Sudan.
He also stressed that his country uses the resources of the transboundary river only to a limited extent. Furthermore, they have not taken anything that does not belong to them.
Abi Ahmed added that his country has started with one project, the Annahda Dam. However, it can build more dams in the Nile Basin.
Direct confrontation
Meanwhile, Egyptian specialists confirmed that what Ethiopia is doing with the Annahda Dam will cause harm to Egypt. This may also herald a direct confrontation between Addis Ababa on the one hand and Cairo and Khartoum on the other hand in the coming years.
Geologists and water resources scientists believe that the level of the Renaissance Dam reached its maximum capacity at 640 meters. It has a total of 64 billion m3.
They explained that the dam’s water began arriving at the High Dam a few days ago. Moreover, Egypt’s share of the revenue will be fully completed this year.
The failure of the High Dam
Experts added that the High Dam was produced specifically to harm Egypt and its water security. It was even to try to thwart the High Dam as a strategic water reserve for the country.
Drought is coming
The former Egyptian minister expected that the coming years would witness drought. This would create direct confrontations between the three countries.
He considered that “the international community must intervene to prevent these confrontations and to persuade Ethiopian leaders to stop practicing these actions that portend a clash”.
It is noteworthy that the Renaissance Dam file has been causing a dispute between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia for years. This is due to the unilateral Ethiopian position related to the Annahda Dam.
Last Wednesday, a meeting of the 2+2 consultative mechanism for the foreign and irrigation ministers of Egypt and Sudan was held at the headquarters of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The two sides agreed to affirm their complete rejection of any unilateral moves in the eastern Nile Basin. These moves would harm their water interests.
They also stressed that the Ethiopian dam, known as the Annahda Dam, has serious effects on the two downstream countries. It represents a continuing threat to the stability of the situation in the Eastern Nile Basin in accordance with international law.
This came after the fourth and final meeting of the dam negotiations between the three countries ended in failure. It was previously launched at the end of 2023 but did not yield any results.
